EVERYBODY LOVES RAMON!!!!!!!!!!!
THE SHOW!
And their all like who's Ramon.
It hit me like a brick when I got it.
Funny truely funny.
(I am right, right? I got a little excited. I hope I'm right.)

Click to expand...

<sigh>.

uyuy7hjuy7h3olp0u

That's me hitting my head on the keyboard eight times. Ramon's name has absolutely NOTHING to do with the pun. Or with television. You know how I got Ramon's name? I went to a baby name website and searched for Spanish names. It has just about nothing to do with anything.

<sigh> Doesn't anyone get the pun? Come on, people, read the chapter out loud if you have to. I didn't think it was that hard to get! Yeesh...

There's a baby names website? Was never able to navigate that thing properly. Lisa, if you wanted a Spanish name, you could've come straight to your friend down in Room #1 of the dorms. But Ramon's hokay, hokay?
And don't know why everyone's getting worked up over this mystery pun. Made a few jokes about the Hens Inn, and I think that's funny enough. And FYI: When I read the chapter, my computer's voice does read it out loud to me. But like I said, the Hens Inn jokes are working well for now.
So... Now that ROE's over... Let's move things along and get another chapter of this one.

2 The next couple of days, my family and I are taking a psuedo-vacation. Tomorrow we're "Doing Chicago like tourists," which basically means we're going to the Museum of Science and Industry, maybe a couple of other museums, and possibly even Navy Pier. Saturday we're busting out the bicycles and going for a ride. The real challenge there will be for me to go the entire day without singing "Couldn't We Ride," and I'm telling you right now that's not going to happen. And Sunday, we're (in theory) going to Wisconsin Dells and (possibly? maybe?) staying at a hotel. So basically, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post more story (or anything else) this weekend. But we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, before you start chasing me around with pitchforks for abandoning you... let's get on with the tale!

Two hours later, Robin and Ramon walked into Hens Inn. They sat across from each other at a large round table and looked over the menus. Ramon glanced up to see Robin looking anxiously at the door.

"Your uncle will be here soon," he assured the young frog.

"But what if Hopper comes?" Robin said nervously.

"He'll have to go through me if he wants to lay a finger on you," Ramon said. He was determined, and Robin let himself relax.

A group of six penguins approached the table.

"Hi! May we take your orders?" one of them asked.

Ramon looked confused. "What happened to the chickens who worked here?"

"Oh, they're retired," a second penguin said.

"But we work just as hard as they did!" said a third.

"Yeah, we're good waiters!" said a fourth.

Ramon shook his head. "Are you? Because we've been talking for almost a whole minute now, and I still don't know what today's soup is."

"Today's soup is the Soup du Jour!" a fifth penguin shouted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As he drove, Junior kept glancing nervously at his father. Doc was rubbing his chest and his arm, coughing frequently.

"Are you alright, Papa?" Junior asked.

Doc nodded, forcing a smile on his face. "I'm just fine, Junior," he said. Then he pointed. "Let's go in here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Ramon finished his meal quickly. He looked at Robin, who was still picking at the food on his plate.

"Do you have to go to the bathroom?" he asked.

"No," Robin said.

"I do," Ramon said. "So if Hopper comes while I'm gone, I want you to hide under the table, alright?"

"Okay," Robin said.

Ramon stood up and walked to the back of the restaurant. Robin wasn't worried. He was going to be with Uncle Kermit soon. He heard the door open and smiled. Maybe that was Uncle Kermit now. He looked up and saw a young couple walk in, hand in hand. Robin looked back down at his plate. Uncle Kermit would be there soon. He heard the door again and looked up.

This time it was Doc and Junior.

Robin felt himself drop to the floor beneath the table. All he had to do was stay there until Ramon got back. He could do that, right? It was easy enough.

He watched their feet walk through the restaurant until they reached the table right behind him. A chair scooter back, and Junior's boots took their place in front of it.

"Are you sure you're alright, Papa?" Junior was asking as he unrolled his napkin, dropping his silverware to the floor. He bent down to pick it up and something green caught his eye.

Robin turned to run but the hand was already around him, lifting him into the air.

"Look what I found, Papa," Junior said proudly.

Doc smiled at his son. "Let's go," he said.

A Cadillac, a banged up convertible, a brightly painted bus, and an old Volkswagon beetle pulled into the parking lot. Doc and Junior stood up and headed for the exit.

Kermit felt like he was walking on sunshine as he walked ahead of his friends towards Hens Inn. But he froze dead in his tracks when a man he immediately recognized as Doc Hopper came out. He heard a familiar little voice saying "Put me down!"

Before the Muppets even had time to react, Robin had been thrown in a cage in the back of the truck and Doc and Junior were putting on their seat belts.

Without even thinking, Kermit hopped into the truck bed right next to the cage.

"Robin!" he said.

"Uncle Kermit!" Robin said.

They hugged each other through the bars. Then the truck started to pull away.

"No!" Fozzie shouted.

"Everyone back in your cars!" Clifford said. "We'll follow them!"

Kermit and Robin clung to each other as they watched their friends run to their cars.

"Uncle Kermit?" Robin said, "What do we do now?"

Kermit looked grimly down at his petrified nephew. For a moment he really didn't know what to do. But he gave his nephew a reassuring squeeze. "Now we hope, Robin," he said. "Now we hope."

Oooh, that mean ol' Hopper! If he has a heart attack or something, I refuse to feel sorry for him! You hear me? I utterly refuse to feel sorry for Doc Hopper!

Have fun in Chicago and Wisconson Dells! I'm not sure how far away it is from the Dells, but pay a visit to the House on the Rock while you're there if you haven't seen it before. It's awesome; I've been there twice before (or was it three times?) and I've loved it every time I've gone.

**** it! Knew he shouldn't have drunk the water. It always does that to people of Spanish origin. And cause of it, he had to use the bathroom. Course, wouldn't you know it... That's when Hopper hopped on the hopping frog.

So, let's hope for a speedy reunion. No, not the Muppets... Lisa and her notebook/computer.

The truck weaved through the town, oblivious to the stange parade that followed it. The first in line was the truck of course, then came the Cadillac, the bus, the convertible, and the beetle. Way back on the end, a motorcycle tagged along.

Kermit looked down at his nephew, trying to think how he could stand up to Doc Hopper once more. He remembered last time. Last time he had been willing to give his life rather than do the advertising. And what had Hopper said? "Alright, boys. Kill him."

Kermit shuddered. He couldn't do that to Robin.

The young frog felt his uncle shudder and looked up at him. Uncle Kermit was afraid.

"Uncle Kermit?" Robin said.

"Yes?" Kermit said.

Robin heard the tremble in his voice and shook his head. "Never mind," he said.

Kermit tried to comfort his nephew. "Sweetums is here," he said. "He's with Bunsen and Beaker in the beetle. And the whole band is in the bus, Dr. Teeth, and Floyd, and Janice, and Zoot, and Animal. And in the convertible, there's Johnny and Sal, and Clifford, and Pepe. And then of course the Cadillac, there's Fozzie, and Miss Piggy, and Rowlf, and Gonzo and Rizzo."

Robin nodded. "And Ramon is on the motorcycle," he said.

Kermit looked down at his nephew, a little surprised. "And Ramon is on the motorcycle," he repeated. He tried to think of some other tangent conversation they could have to distract Robin.

"How did you get a ride with a deer, anyway?" he asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Ramon couldn't belive he had let Hopper get Robin. If he had just waited another minute or two to go to the bathroom, or if he had insisted that Robin go to the bathroom, or if... if. It was too late for "if" now. Now he had to get Robin and his uncle back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Rowlf was driving, and Fozzie had taken Kermit's seat. In the backseat, Rizzo was bent over with his hands clasped together.

"Fer sure," Janice said. "But like, I bet that's where we're going." She pointed at a huge warehouse up ahead of them. A large sign at the top of the building read "Doc Hopper and Son's French Fried Frog Legs Restaurant chain." The truck pulled inside and a huge garage door came crashing down, closing off the entrance.

Rowlf braked hard and pulled the Cadillac in a tight left turn, squealing the tires to avoid hitting the door. Dr. Teeth braked and made a U-turn, leaving room for the others. Sal went left and scraped the whole left side of the convertible against a lamp post. Bunsen just slammed on the brake, somehow causing Beaker to sink through his seat to the car floor. Ramon gently guided his motorcycle around the beetle and came to a gradual stop.

It was dark inside the empty warehouse. Robin pressed up against the bars of his cage, trying to snuggle closer to his uncle.

"It'll be okay, Robin," Kermit heard himself say.

Some dim lights flashed on, and they heard the two doors of the truck open and close. Junior got to the back of the truck first. He saw Kermit and froze.

"Papa, you're not gonna believe this," he said.

Doc leaned on his cane a little more than usual as he hobbled back and turned to see what his son was talking about. When he did, he found himself looking his arch nemesis in the eyes.

"Well well well," he said. "If it isn't Kermit the Frog. Did you find your dream yet, frog? Where's that barnyard you called a family now?"

Kermit just glared at him. "Why are you doing this, Hopper?"

Doc glared right back at him. "We've been over this before, frog," he said. "This is what I want. A chain of frog leg restaurants, thousands of them, all over the world."

"Your plans have grown," Kermit said.

Doc shrugged. "Things change."

"You haven't changed," Kermit said. "You're older and you have a son, but you haven't changed. Not on the inside. You're still just a heartless man trying to force a frog to advertise the killing of his own kind."

Doc glanced at his feet and back up. "That may be," he said. "But like my son Junior here said, nothing's gonna go wrong this time. Either one of you frogs agrees to be the official spokesfrog for Doc Hopper and Son's French Fried Frog Leg Restaurant chain, or I'll kill you both. And just from lookin' at you, I'm guessing you don't want that little frog to die."

Robin looked up at his uncle, petrified. Kermit looked down at him and swallowed hard. Doc was right. He couldn't let Robin die. He couldn't make Robin do the advertising, either. So he gave his nephew a squeeze, pulled his arms out of the cage, stood up and said, "I'll do it."

Robin was immediately on his feet. "Uncle Kermit, No!" he shouted.

Kermit looked down at him sadly. "Robin, I can't let him do that to you," he said.

Suddenly the door flew up. They heard a voice say, "And we can't let him do that to either of you!"

Time for another showdown! I loved both of these last two chapters. I liked how Kermit asked "how did you get to ride with a deer anyway?" I can't wait to read the rest and I'm guessing you won't finish it before I leave on Sunday, so I'll have lots of catching up to do next weekend. Enjoy your mini-vacation!

nah... Me thinks we're supposed to go on this elaborate guessing game as to who said that last line for the weekend. Or until Lisa gets back from the dells in Wisconsin. Why couldn't Rizzo have gone with her instead?
Oh well, we'll be waiting for the next installment... Whenever that may be.

OK. I PMed Lisa with a guess about the pun. And I was right, but I still don't see it. So to end your agony, and Lisa having to read all these "Where's the pun?" posts, I will tell you where it is. Then you can tell me how the H-E-double hockey sticks this is a pun. So here it is.

The pun is somewhere in this statement: "Hens Inn in Castle Rock."

To me this is mearly a verbal redundency, but I guess I'm wrong. Cause apparently the pun is there. Please, tell me how.

I've been thinking it over and if you say "Hens Inn in Castle Rock" really fast it can sound like you're saying "Henson in Castle Rock." I'm not sure what that means, but I think it's what Lisa is getting at.